Opinion

Pulling back the curtain at The New York Times

In the documentary "Page One," there's a scene in which New York Times media columnist David Carr is sitting at a Greek diner and someone asks him how scared he is of the paper's dramatic financial downturn.

"Look, I'm afraid of guns, and I'm afraid of bats — I'm really not afraid of anything else," says Carr, leaning back in his chair, glasses propped on a stiffly forward-jutting head. "It's an advantage of having lived a textured life. I've been a single parent on welfare. This is nothing."

After last week, we can add to the list of fears that can't faze Carr: Publicly confessing the sins of his employer to millions of readers around the globe, all in the name of old-fashioned, truth-telling journalism.

Not once, but twice, Carr references his publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and the word "failed" or "failing" in the same sentence. Here:

"Still, Mr. Sulzberger, working with Mr. Baquet and Mr. Thompson, may have failed to understand the impact Ms. Abramson's firing would have, both internally and with the public."

And again:

"The current mayhem aside, Mr. Sulzberger's real failing has been picking two editors who ended up not being right for the job."

For the record, Sulzberger is Carr's boss's boss's boss. That's who he's admonishing. And if you think that's not significant, just try announcing the transgressions of your boss at the next all-employee picnic and see what that does for your career. Or, better yet, if you work at a large company like the Times, publish the failures of your CEO or chairman for everyone to read on the internal communications intranet. See where that gets you.

In the wake of Jill Abramson's firing, the conventional wisdom followed a predictable formula:

1) Women throughout the United States are unfairly paid less than their male counterparts.

2) At The New York Times, Jill Abramson was paid less than her executive editor predecessor, Bill Keller, who was (and still is) a man.

3) Therefore, Jill Abramson was treated unfairly at The New York Times.

We still don't know how much actual truth resides in the Abramson-as-martyr meme, but what we do know — thanks to Carr, as well as some great reporting by Ken Auletta at The New Yorker — is that simplistically assuming the Times is a sexist institution won't cut it.

In light of all the information that has come out, including a series of Tweets by Deputy International Editor Lydia Polgreen on why she and other women editors at the Times don't consider Abramson's firing worthy of outrage, it's clear that mismanagement, hostile work environment and general disrespect deserve a share of the spotlight — along with gender inequality assumptions.

Yes, Abramson is the one with a tattoo of the gothic "T" on her back but more than anyone else it is Carr who has put the Grey Lady's good standing on his back and left an indelible mark on journalism for generations.

By casting an unflinching eye on the unfortunate faults of Sulzberger, Abramson and now-executive editor Dean Baquet, Carr has simultaneously crucified the Times and resurrected its reputation as the source for all the news that's fit to print. Even (or especially) news that wounds the paper itself.

It was somehow appropriate that, in the aftermath of Abramson's axing, the substance-starved, indiscriminate news cycle of digital media offered up a selfie of Abramson mugging for the camera with prize-fighting props.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one self-serving photo-op that probably wouldn't win any Pulitzers.

But Carr — the bat-fearing former welfare recipient — deserves accolades. He's the one who unceremoniously stepped into center ring, touched gloves with conjecture and rained down 1,158 words of haymakers in defense of journalistic integrity. Being used to analyzing important issues in 140 characters or fewer these days, I'm not surprised if most people miss the import.

"For those of us who work in media, life is a drumbeat of goodbye speeches with sheet cakes and cheap sparkling wine," reflects Carr in the Page One documentary. "That carnage has left behind an island of misfit toys."

Did any of her former colleagues give Abramson a sheet-cake-and-cheap-wine sendoff? It doesn't really matter, as long the Times still has enough misfit toys such as Carr to champion the truth.

Alex Runner lives and writes in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood. His "Urban Center" blog is part of the Purple Wisconsin project at www.jsonline.com/purplewis.